Page 37 of Marked By the Alphas

“Sore, but alive,” I replied as I approached, and she dropped the shears and took off the gloves she had been wearing.

Rowan, still sporting a bandage around his arm, gave me a mock salute. “Hey, captain. Feeling better?” he asked teasingly, and I rolled my eyes but affirmed his question, my gaze lingering on Elara.

“I just wanted to thank you,” I began, my voice low. “For patching us up last night and for…” I faltered, struggling to find the right words.

A beat of awkward silence stretched between us. Then, Rowan, ever the social butterfly, piped up. “And for giving it to him good too, that’s what he’s trying to say.” He wagged his eyebrows suggestively, earning a swat on his good arm from Elara.

“Rowan!” she hissed, a blush creeping up her cheeks.

“It was nothing, I’m just glad you three are okay,” she murmured.

“Well, we were hoping you would like to spend the day with us and take a tour around the pack property…”

Chapter 19

Elara

For some reason, I couldn’t find anything to wear in my closet full of clothes. Well, there were many options, but right now, none of them looked good enough. I pulled out a blue dress and the moment I tried it on, the fabric of it clung to my curves. It was beautiful, but it looked too formal, and I let out a groan, struggling with the zipper so I could take it off.

A knock came on the door, and it froze me in place, but I recovered quickly. I moved toward the door to pull it slightly open, and relief immediately filled me when I realized it was only Rose. I opened the door completely to let her in and her eyes widened when she saw the mess I had created around the room.

“Alpha Kai sent me to check on you. Do you need any help?” she asked as she eyed me carefully and I sighed heavily, moving back to the heap of clothes on the floor.

“I can’t find anything to wear,” I responded, moving to slump defeatedly on the chair in front of the dresser.

“With the way the Alphas look at you, I don’t think they would mind even if you wore rags,” she commented, and a blush crept up my neck.

“What do you mean?” I asked, and Rose approached me with a pair of jeans and a cotton shirt in her hands.

“Look in the mirror, Elara,” Rose urged, and I turned to do as she asked, my reflection staring straight back at me.

“You’re easily one of the most beautiful people I’ve ever met, and that’s coming from me who has no romantic connection whatsoever to you. Can you imagine what the Alphas see when they look at you?” she said, and without waiting for an answer, she handed me the clothes before pulling out a hairbrush and helping me with my hair.

But her question stayed with me.

Rose added some oil to my hair, brushing it out thoroughly before pulling it into a single braid, just the way I liked to wear it.

“There you go. Perfect as always. You should hurry and dress now. You’ve been in here for a while, and the Alphas might come looking for you themselves,” she said lightheartedly. I laughed.

“Thank you Rose,” I said and she gave a playful bow before moving to head out of the room.

“Don’t bother about these clothes. I’ll clean up the mess soon as you leave,” she reassured me, shutting the door behind her.

I changed into the clothes she had handed to me and was glad when I realized that I looked cute. I applied some gloss to my lips and with a final look in the mirror to confirm I looked fine, I stepped away from the dresser. Taking a deep breath, I grabbed a lightweight shawl before pulling open the door. But the moment I pulled open my door, I found Rhys standing there and the sight of him made my heart skip a beat.

Rhys was usually breathtaking, but there was something about him right now that made him even more attractive.

“Wow…you look amazing,” he said as his eyes roamed through my body like they couldn’t immediately decide where they wanted to settle. The action made me feel all warm inside.

“Were you waiting for me?” I finally asked, taking the hand that he offered.

“Yes. I wanted to make sure everything was fine and that you hadn’t changed your mind,” he confessed and I laughed.

“Why would I change my mind?” I asked, but he simply shrugged his shoulders, leading me toward the stairs.

Rowan and Kai were waiting at the bottom of the stairs, and they seemed to be discussing something important, but the discussion immediately ceased the moment I began descending the stairs. Both men stared at me with a wide-eyed look that was almost comical.

“You look radiant,” Kai said at the same time that Rowan said, “You look breathtaking.”

---